Chennai, Mar 3 (IANS): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday announced that his government will soon release data on department-wise carbon emissions.

Delivering the inaugural speech of the first meeting of the Tamil Nadu Governing Council on Climate Change, Stalin also said that the state government is aiming to achieve the 'net zero' levels much before the national goal.

"The Tamil Nadu Governing Council on Climate Change or a sub-committee will study the data and set a target so that Tamil Nadu realises the goal of 'net zero' much before 2070, when India aims to realise it," he elaborated.

Noting that development and ecological interests are equally important, Stalin urged his ministers to implement development programmes after evaluating their implications on climate change.

The state government is planning to launch a climate literacy campaign to percolate the message to the younger generations, Stalin informed. Also on the cards, are ten 'climate resilient villages' by planting palmyra trees to prevent seashore erosion and to protect biodiversity," he added.

With as many as nine Indian states listed in the 50 states/provinces worldwide susceptible to highest climate risk, Stalin pointed out that Tamil Nadu is the only Indian state to constitute a climate change council.

Among others, members of the governing council include economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme Erik Solheim, Chairperson of M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation Soumya Swaminathan, and Founder-Director of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management Ramesh Ramachandran.